


Better Tomorrow

by silentwish



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, M/M, Meeting the Parents, Mentions of Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:54:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23744893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silentwish/pseuds/silentwish
Summary: Meeting the parents is rough, especially when you find out they are royalty twenty minutes before.
Relationships: Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Kim Jongin | Kai
Comments: 16
Kudos: 168
Collections: Kaisoo OLAO Adoption Round 1





	Better Tomorrow

**Author's Note:**

> Hope everyone enjoys! Thanks Mods for everything, I am happy to be apart of the adoption round!
> 
> Title: Better Tomorrow  
> Prompt #24

“I don’t want to get out of bed, do I have to?” A sluggish man groaned at the sound of the blaring alarm coming from his nightstand. 

“Yes, we promised my parents. Now get your lazy ass up.” Said man’s boyfriend Kyungsoo sat up from his side of the bed, equally annoyed at the loud alarm.

Jongin only groaned further as his boyfriend tried (and succeeded) to yank him up from his current position on the bed.

Anyone who knew Jongin knew that he had difficulty getting up from bed at any time before ten in the morning. How he woke up for any of his early morning classes was a mystery. Well, actually it wasn’t. Anyone in his friend group would tell you that meeting Kyungsoo was probably the best thing that had ever happened to Jongin. 

Even prior to their romantic relationship Kyungsoo always helped Jongin out when he struggled. In turn, he helped Kyungsoo let loose from his rather straight laced personality. They fit together like no other. Their mutual friend Baekhyun used to joke that if they broke up he would stop believing in love. Jongin looked at Kyungsoo and softly smiled at him. Even after the older of the two called him a lazy ass, he was still pretty whipped.

They were now going to be in their last year of college and almost three years strong. Both of them knew that their relationship was pretty serious, serious enough to think about marriage. Kyungsoo had already met with Jongin’s parents and they loved him. If Kyungsoo imagined ideal in-laws for himself, the Kims fit perfectly to a tee. Since Kyungsoo was from abroad, he mostly spent holidays with Jongin minus Christmas and a month in summer, or as Jongin calls it ‘the most boring months of the year’. 

The last time Kyungsoo was home in Korea he came home with the news that they finally wanted to meet their youngest son’s long term boyfriend. Jongin had always wanted to meet Kyungsoo’s parents too but the timing never matched up. Finally this year though, things seemed to have just fallen in place.

Jongin’s parents decided to visit their relatives in Canada the last few weeks of summer. Jongin was supposed to be home for Summer break. He was given the option to go with them or find somewhere to stay until they came back. Kyungsoo was going back home to Korea and all his friends had gone home for break already so Jongin really had no choice but to go to Canada. 

Kyungsoo, the love of his life, the apple of his eye, the one who makes his heart beat fast, ended his misery by inviting him to go home with him. It was time Jongin met his parent’s anyway.

He was pretty excited as he had only been to Korea when he was younger, not even really remembering the trip. Last time he went the monarchs had been celebrating their son’s birthday. He only remembers this because the streets were crowded trying to catch a glimpse of the royal parade. Jongin hadn’t liked being around all the people but thought it was cool that he was able to at least see royalty. Living in states meant no royalty and even though he didn’t really care about that kind of stuff he still thought it was pretty cool. A once in a lifetime experience, his mom would tell him later.

Which brings them back to their current predicament. It was now the day they were set to depart and Jongin was definitely making it difficult for them to leave.

No matter how much he tried to burrow back under the covers, Kyungsoo would just drag him back out yelling profanities at him. Even though Kyungsoo was awake, it didn't mean that he wanted to be awake either. If he had to endure being awake at such an early hour, he was dragging his boyfriend along with him. It was his fault anyways.

“Get up before we miss our flight Jongin. I’m serious.” Kyungsoo climbed on the bed and urged Jongin to go again. Reluctantly the taller of the two finally stood up for good and helped Kyungsoo make the bed so that he couldn’t keep hiding underneath the sheets. It was probably for the best, otherwise he would climb right back in and go back to sleep, giving Kyungsoo a headache.

“Well that was before I knew we had to take a five am flight.”

Kyungsoo scoffed, “Well you’re the one who booked the tickets so I wouldn’t be complaining if I were you. I said by afternoon tickets for a Friday flight. Not buy five am morning tickets for a Saturday flight.”

“To be fair I was half asleep and I thought it was at five pm not five am so really it’s not my fault,” Jongin said defensively. 

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes, “Well doesn’t matter we need to get up and get going. As it is we are already late. We probably won’t get to shower until we get to my parents place.”

“Seriously? I probably smell like sweat. I can’t smell unclean in front of your parents. What would they think of me?” 

In a panic, Jongin ran to the bathroom and tried to turn on the shower. There was no way he was going to meet his boyfriend’s parents and not smell clean. There was just no way. But before he could climb in the hot shower, Kyungsoo turned it off and dragged him back into the room.

“You should have thought of that before you decided to take a billion years to get out of bed. Now hurry up. It doesn’t matter if you don’t shower right now. We are literally going to be sitting in a plane full of people where it'll definitely get hot and you'll sweat anyways. Showering now will honestly be futile. If anyone has to suffer from your smell it would be me since I’m sitting right next to you. Now let’s get the show going.”

Jongin pouted but nodded because even though he was putting up a fight, he knew that Kyungsoo was right. He was going to need a shower after getting off the plane anyways.

“Alright, fine. Hopefully they take pity on us and let us rest since we will be on such a long flight.”

“Hm sure.”

The rest of the early morning involved them running around Kyungsoo’s apartment gathering the last of their toiletries they left out from the night before. Objectively, Jongin knew that sleeping at eight pm and waking up at one am was a bad idea considering that they could have just slept on the plane but he knows himself better than anyone and without sleep he probably wouldn’t have been able to function at all. 

A few hours is better than no hours. Kyungsoo would disagree but Kyungsoo likes to disagree with everything Jongin says for fun so it’s irrelevant.

Thirty minutes and a coffee later, Jongin and Kyungsoo find themselves sitting in the back of an Uber, heading to the airport. An hour later the couple were finally checked in and sat at the gate awaiting their long flight.

Jongin hadn't been stressed for the trip until probably two days before. For starters, he was meeting the love of his life’s parents. He had never been with someone long enough to meet their parents before. 

His mom had coached him on how to make a good first impression in front of Kyungsoo’s parents. Bowing was a must, flowers a must, politeness duh, and a compliment or two a definitely. Jongin’s dad didn’t have any advice for Jongin, only just a small smile on his face behind his newspaper. His son was bright and could easily get people to like him.

(According to his mom, Jongin’s dad made quite the first impression on his mom’s parents. The word ‘quite’ being used relatively loose depending on if you ask his grandma or his grandpa.)

Jongin played on his phone while Kyungsoo rested his head on his shoulder, the tiredness finally catching up to him. The morning rush at home had him cranky and running on a fuse but now that they were at the airport settled he was able to rest. He was less stressed and more excited to go home.

Jongin put down his phone for a minute and stroked his boyfriend’s bangs out of his face. He felt bad that he was part of the stress since he struggled to get up but no one could tolerate him better than Kyungsoo. If being together for three years is a testament to that. Plus Kyungsoo was also cranky because of the hour they had woken up at. Popular to contrary belief, Kyungsoo enjoyed his sleep much more than Jongin and could even sleep longer than Jongin if given the chance (like on the weekends).

“Passengers on flight 1485 to Seoul will be boarding in just a few minutes. Group A may begin lining up shortly,” an announcement was made.

Jongin nudged Kyungsoo’s head with the shoulder he was resting it on. “Hey Soo, that’s us. Let’s get up yeah.”

Kyungsoo opened his eyes and looked around for a minute, confused and in a daze. When he realized where he was, who he was with, and what they were doing, he wiped his mouth and stood up. Jongin mumbled out a small “cute” under his breath. 

“Are you ready?” Kyungsoo nodded and held onto Jongin’s arm as they lined up.

“Are you ready to meet my parents Jongin?” 

Jongin smiled and knocked their heads together. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

—

The flight itself was very uninteresting and boring. Unlike Kyungsoo, Jongin hated sleeping on planes and instead watched movies. But after his second movie all he wanted to do was get air, which was obviously impossible. So he had to embrace the fact that they still had many more hours to go on the flight and just watched a few more movies. 

They finally landed around the evening time and Jongin couldn’t wait to go to bed. They picked up their luggage and went outside. Jongin swears the air never smelled better. After being on the plane for so long, all he wanted to do was let the wind hit his face and soak up the sunshine.

“Hello Korea I’m here,” he said with his arms wide open as if someone were going to hug him. Kyungsoo looked around in slight embarrassment. Jongin was definitely not a plane person.

The airport was very busy with many people moving about, getting picked up or getting into taxis or even heading to the train station. But right there in the front of the exit doors, a black Maserati was parked curbside. Jongin, along with many others, was in awe at the car. He had only seen a few before but this one looked really sleek up close. He knew someone important had to have been there because there was a driver waiting outside the car, looking official and what not.

Consider Jongin impressed.

“Damn that’s such a nice car.”

Kyungsoo looked up from checking his phone and smiled. “Glad you like it, now let’s go.”

Kyungsoo walked ahead and greeted the guy standing in front of the Maserati. The taller man was definitely confused because he could’ve sworn he saw the guy in the suit bowing to Kyungsoo and motioning towards another car parked right behind the Maserati. How did he not even notice that van behind the Maserati? Honestly, Jongin was less confused during his chemistry final than he was right now.

The older gentleman walked over towards Jongin and greeted him politely as well. He quietly picked up their suitcases (there were five in total between the two of them because Jongin was definitely a fashionista and staying somewhere for a long period of time always had him overpacking) and walked back over to the van. There was another older gentleman sitting in the driver’s seat waving at him.

There was nothing he could do other than wave back with an unsure look adorned on his face. He didn’t even know what to think. Last time he recalled Kyungsoo drove an older BMW model.

He was brought out of his confusion when he heard Kyungsoo shout from inside the Maserati, “Did you want to rest or not Jongin?” 

Jongin walked over to the Maserati and looked at Kyungsoo through the rolled down passenger window. 

“Wait but—is this yours? Who were those guys and why did they take our luggage?” 

Kyungsoo shrugged and put on his seatbelt, ignoring Jongin’s insistent questions. Jongin was just left gaping on the curbside as his boyfriend started the car and stared out at him. Kyungsoo motioned him to get into the car before throwing on some sunglasses from the center console.

It would be a lie to say that Jongin admired how hot and attractive his boyfriend looked at that very moment, it was so unlike Kyungsoo he’s used to seeing on a regular basis. Trading in his regular glasses for his sunglasses. Both equally hot on his boyfriend but his sunglasses made him look really cool and handsome.

“So you’re rich rich?” he says, as he looks around the orange interior when he finally gets into the car.

“Hm not really. My parents are. This is my dad’s car, he's just letting us borrow it while we’re here.” Kyungsoo grinned and drove out of the airport. It was silent until about ten minutes into the drive when Jongin finally tore his gaze away from the view out the window.

“Wow, so you have money but you wear the same three pairs of sweats?” Jongin teases. Kyungsoo could only roll his eyes and stick his tongue out.

“Why would anyone need more than that Jongin? We’ve had this conversation like five times already. Let it go. Also, for your information, I have six pairs of sweats. But many more pairs of jeans.”

“I’m just saying.” Jongin chuckled at the defensive Kyungsoo.

“So will your siblings be there too?” 

“Only my oldest brother and my sister, I think. The others are out of the country.” Jongin nodded at the response.

Jongin had been shocked when he learned that Kyungsoo had four older siblings. Three brothers and one sister with Kyungsoo being the youngest of them all. He had described himself as a “surprise baby”. A surprise because his parents were done having kids after Kyungsoo's sister but many, many years later Kyungsoo was born. The age gap between him and his eldest brother was twenty years. Maybe having many older siblings contributed to Kyungsoo being so mature at a young age. He was always around his older siblings, mostly his third brother Seungsoo and his sister Sooyoung. Jongin had met Sooyoung a few times on facetime. She was the only member of his family that he had met and talked to. Everyone else was just seen in pictures.

Jongin had older sisters who were only three and five years older than him so they had a strong bond. They also got along nicely with Kyungsoo when he came over for some of the holidays.

The couple drove in a comfortable silence into the city after that. Jongin was excited to explore around the country he hadn’t been to since he was younger. Since they were going to be there for a month or so they had set aside a week and half for them to travel to different places in the country. Jongin’s mom had given him a list of souvenirs to bring back home too. 

When Kyungsoo saw the list he laughed because that was a very Mrs. Kim thing to do. She certainly loved her lists and when the time came to it, he knew that his mom and Mrs. Kim would get along so well because his mom also liked making lists. For organization and structure, she said.

After about an hour of driving, Kyungsoo broke the silence. They had already made it into the city and Jongin was fascinated about what had changed and what had remained the same since he last visited. 

“So Jongin, there’s a few things I need to tell you before we meet my parents.”

“Don’t worry my mom coached me. Your parents will love me, I’m charming. Um I think.” Jongin eagerly replied.

Kyungsoo smiled and held out his hand for Jongin to take into his own. His boyfriend didn't need to be told twice as he took the driver's hand into his own. Unconsciously, Jongin started stroking Kyungsoo’s hand with his thumb as he gave Kyungsoo his full attention.

Kyungsoo always loved when Jongin rubbed his thumb on his hand. Whether he was aware it was a habit of his when they held hands or not, it was soothing. It gave Kyungsoo butterflies in his stomach. He always did it when they were cuddling too. His hand would be on Kyungsoo’s lower back just rubbing his side. 

“They’ll definitely love you. They already practically know about you. I send them videos of us together.”

Jongin almost choked on his spit, “You mean the embarrassing ones?”

Kyungsoo grinned as Jongin whined.

“They are going to think I’m a clown.”

“Yes, but a cute clown.”

Jongin released his hold of Kyungsoo’s hand and covered his face in embarrassment. “Why do you hate me?”

“No I love you, which is why I showed it to them. They love seeing us so happy.” 

Jongin tried to stop himself from smiling too much but Kyungsoo’s words got to him. “That was pretty romantic so I’ll forgive you...for now.” 

Jongin picked up Kyungsoo’s hand again and gave it a light kiss. 

“Disregarding the videos, what should I know?”

“Well…”

Kyungsoo is ashamed to admit that he had been keeping a secret, a very important secret, from his boyfriend of three years. He wouldn’t feel as bad if it was a little white lie like when he tells Jongin that his breath doesn’t smell in the morning. At least Jongin knew it was a lie. But it was definitely a biggie. He had almost spilled his secret a few times but never found the right time. He did have every intention of telling Jongin, however.

“I’ve been trying to work up the courage to say it so I’ll just spit it out. My parents are not ordinary people.”

Jongin looked over at Kyungsoo, his head tilted in confusion. 

“Remember the last time you came to Korea with your parents and you said there was a royal celebration going on? You said that you were amazed at how grand the palace was and that one day you’d like to take a tour of it but couldn’t because it was only open during the summer and you went during the winter?.”

Jongin smiled fondly at his memory. He remembered crying to his mom about wanting to go in but being told no because apparently the palace was only open to tours during the summer months when the royals apparently lived elsewhere. His mom had to buy him ice cream to appease the crying boy.

Kyungsoo cleared his throat, “Well on this trip, we will be able to go into the palace because my parents live there. In fact, we will even be able to stay there.”

“So you grew up in the palace? Is that what you were scared to share? You thought I was going to be jealous of you?”

Kyungsoo clicked his tongue and shook his head. “Maybe I’m not being clear. My parents currently live in the palace that my brother owns. Well technically my great grandparents but still.”

Jongin froze and released their interlocked hands again. Not because of what Kyungsoo had just said but rather where they had stopped.

In front of them were big iron gates, bigger than any other gates he had seen before. The palace was just as grand as he remembered it to be. Beautiful rose garden he could see off to the side and a lavish looking house right behind it, or at least the side of it.

“Wait..If your brother owns the house that would mean that…that he is….that they are...and then that means you are...oh my goodness.”

“Yeah.”

“Oh dear. My mom didn’t prepare me for this.”

Kyungsoo looked apologetically at Jongin, “Sorry for not admitting earlier. I wasn’t trying to hide it from you I swear. I just didn’t know how to tell you.”

“Look I love you, no matter what. But what I’m more concerned about is that you’ve shown my embarrassing videos to the king and queen of Korea. No big deal. Really, I'm just going to dig a ditch and bury myself in it.”

“Ever so dramatic Jongin. Besides, my parents aren’t the king and queen anymore. My oldest brother was crowned King about four years ago after my parents stepped down.”

The gates opened after the man in the suit who had greeted the couple earlier got off the van behind them and entered a code. Kyungsoo continued driving down the long pathway once he had enough space to enter inside the gates. Jongin was still freaking out from his seat. 

“Wait how did I not know this? I mean I’ve seen your family pictures. I should have put two and two together.”

“To be fair Jongin, being in a simple, carefree family photo and being brushed to perfection to show a good appearance are completely different things. You wouldn’t have recognized them. Plus it’s not like we are highly publicized royals anyways.”

Jongin bit his lip. “I bet if I showed my mom your family photos she’d know who your family was. But wait, why do you live in the states if you are a prince. Shouldn’t you be doing prince-y things or rebelling or something?”

Kyungsoo chuckled and turned off the car. They had made it through the back entrance and to the side of the palace. It was the entrance every member of his family used when they were coming in from events to avoid paparazzi or tabloids. It made life a lot easier when you could sneak in and out of the palace without being watched, especially for the kids. There was no having to worry about what was going to be on the papers the next day. No one outside of the people living in the palace knew about it and if they did they knew not to be anywhere near the entrance.

Kyungsoo and Jongin both got out of the car and walked inside the palace. The two men in suits had already entered the house and brought along their luggages, having them be delivered to Kyungsoo’s room. If Kyungsoo could take a picture of Jongin's face he would. He had never seen his boyfriend seem so impressed and in awe before. They were only walking through a sitting room and yet he looked amazed. 

Jongin later argued that it was his first time being in such a fancy place. Not only that but also the fact that he was in a palace owned by his boyfriend’s family who happened to be royals. Yeah, no big deal. At all.

“To answer your question, I am like 8th or 9th in line for the throne which basically means I'm never sitting on the throne. Two of my brothers also have kids so that pushes me even further down the line. Even my other brother and sister had kids I would be pushed more down the line too. I don’t really care about it and I’ve known since I was younger that I would never sit on the throne since there were already four people ahead of me.”

Jongin nodded in understanding.

“When I was younger, I was home schooled and I absolutely hated it because I wanted to make friends and play around. So my parents said that I could go to high school in the states if I wanted as long as I did well in middle school courses here. And the rest is history. I lived with a family friend and then left for college where I met this handsome boy who eventually became a huge part of my life.” The couple smiled at each other lovingly. Jongin was still following Kyungsoo to his room.

“I know you are being lovey dovey with me right now but this doesn’t mean that I’ve forgotten what you’ve shown your parents. I forgave you earlier but knowing what I know now I’m upset again.”

“It’s really nothing Jongin. Your parents have seen embarrassing videos of me too! My whole family knows we are together and they want to meet you while we are here. Lucky for you, I just found out that my parents won’t be back until tomorrow and that my siblings are also out for the remainder of the week. So it’s just you and me….and everyone else who lives and works here.”

Jongin clicked his tongue.“ First of all, I'm glad I have tomorrow to make a great first impression. Second of all, I’m not forgetting about the videos. It's easy for you to say that it's nothing, I didn't show my parents videos until after you met and they already loved you. Plus they’ve already seen you at your most embarrassing -- and don't even think about refuting, you know exactly what I’m talking about.”

Sadly, Kyungsoo did. While it was embarrassing at the time, Jongin likes to recount the story to anyone who will listen. During one weekend when Jongin went home to visit his parents, Kyungsoo decided to go out to the bar with his friends. That was mistake number one. 

Mistake number two came when he got drunk and decided it was a fantastic idea to go visit Jongin at home even though it was 3:30 in the morning. 

The poor, drunk boy started throwing rocks at what he thought was his boyfriend’s window. What he found, however, was that it in fact was not his boyfriend’s window but rather his boyfriend’s parents window. Which means that they definitely heard all the embarrassing things he had been trying to profess to Jongin.

Jongin’s dad finally had to come downstairs and put drunk Kyungsoo out of his misery. Mistake number three occurred once Kyungsoo saw Mr. Kim. He had decided that it would be a good idea to profess his love for Jongin and talk about all the mushy gushy things that they did together. 

This conversation lasted about five minutes before Jongin finally came downstairs to relieve his dad of Kyungsoo duty. Mr. Kim just pat Kyungsoo on the shoulder and thanked him for giving Jongin love. Jongin’s cheeks were red at that.

“I can’t believe you. What will I do with you?”

“Love me.” Kyungsoo slurred.

Jongin shook his head and guided Kyungsoo to the guest room where he proceeded to take care of the older. The morning after at breakfast was awkward but all of them now liked to laugh about it.

Kyungsoo laughed at the memory before saying, “Alright alright I understand now. I’m sorry. Let’s just go to sleep. We have a big day tomorrow. My parents should already be flying back now so we won't see them until breakfast tomorrow.”

Jongin nodded in agreement and looked around Kyungsoo’s room. He wasn't sure what he was expecting but having an almost exact replica of the room he has in his apartment wasn't it. This room was just a lot bigger and had a few more key furniture pieces in it. Other than that it was exactly the same all the way down to the bedsheets.

“Nice room”. Kyungsoo rolled his eyes at the blatant sarcasm and continued getting ready for bed. Everything could be unpacked in the morning. 

The two got into bed and crashed. All the flying and waking up early and the time change had finally taken its toll on them.

Just as quickly as Jongin fell asleep, he was awakened by the sun rays shining down on his face through Kyungsoo’s sheer curtains. Today was an important day and he did not want to waste it. Three years of a wonderful relationship had led up to this moment.

Jongin got out of bed carefully so as to not wake up Kyungsoo. He had to get ready. He pulled out his button down shirt (the one Kyungsoo loved seeing him in) and some slacks. If he was going to be with royalty he needed to dress his best. He's glad his mom told him to bring his slacks and button down, even though she told him in case the couple decided to go out to a nice dinner. 

Fifteen minutes later, Jongin was dressed to impress. He had ironed his clothes to perfection and was admiring his work in the mirror. He was so busy making sure there was nothing wrong with his clothes that he didn’t even notice Kyungsoo walking up, him staring at him from the bathroom door.

“Jongin why are you dressed up in slacks and button down? I’m not complaining because I love when you wear that shirt but still. Also why is your hair gelled? We are literally going to eat breakfast in the kitchen.”

“First impressions are important! Your parents will be there. Instead of being in your pajamas maybe you should try dressing up a little bit more, I think you are being too lax. Even jeans would suffice.” Jongin said as he looked Kyungsoo up and down, totally not judging the fact that he was still in pajamas.

Kyungsoo holds back his laughter.

“I usually only brush my teeth and brush my hair but you since you insist on dressing up I will also put on my best clothes. Give me fifteen minutes.”

Jongin did his final touches whilst he waited for his boyfriend to finish getting ready. When Kyungsoo was finally ready he grabbed Jongin’s hand and guided him to the kitchen. Now that the hallways were no longer dimly lit like it was when they arrived Jongin admired the aesthetics of the palace. Whoever designed it really put a lot of thought and effort to make it look both modern and traditional. He was so dazzled by the decorations that he didn’t even notice Kyungsoo talking to him.

“We usually eat breakfast in the kitchen as a family but since it's just us and my parents I guess it'll be more intimate. Be yourself and don’t worry too much. My parents aren't scary.” They stop in front of an open walkway before Kyungsoo gives him a pat on the shoulder and walks in.

“Mom, dad” he heard Kyungsoo say. Kyungsoo’s parents are a bit muffled but still loud enough that he knows that they are in the room. He takes a deep breath and puts on a nice smile. 

What he sees before him is definitely not what he was expecting. The royals, no Kyungsoo’s parents, were sitting at the kitchen table dressed in their pajamas staring at Jongin as he walked into the room. Kyungsoo really tries not to laugh at Jongin’s reaction to his parents being in pajamas.

“You must be Jongin, You are very handsome, dear boy.”

Jongin blushed and rubbed the back of his nape in embarrassment,“Ah, thank you. I get it from my parents.”

Kyungsoo’s dad laughed, “He’s funny too. Come have a seat with us. Breakfast will be served shortly.”

Not knowing what to do other than sit down, Jongin does so in the chair opposite Kyungsoo's mother. Kyungsoo followed suit and sat next to Jongin. Awkward silence filled the room and Jongin tried to figure out what to say. “Hi I’m Jongin, I’ve been dating your son for three years and I've only ever seen pictures of you”, or maybe “Your son and I are in love and I'm finally glad to meet the parents of my future husband.” While all honest, Jongin knows those would be ridiculous to say.

But before Jongin could open his mouth for a proper introduction, Mrs. Doh interrupts him,  
“Why are you guys dressed up so extravagantly?”

“Jongin wanted to make sure we were properly dressed even though I told him it was just breakfast. He wanted to be sure that we looked good because, what was it that you always say at home, to look good is to feel good.” Kyungsoo enthusiastically replied.

Both of Kyungsoo’s parents laughed while Jongin’s cheeks turned a bright shade of pink.

“Jongin, please make yourself comfortable here. Our house is your house. You can feel comfortable and wear sweats, pajamas, whatever you want to breakfast. There is no need to dress up.” 

“O-Oh of course.Thank you.”

After the meal was brought out the rest of the conversation went on a bit more smoothly. There were some awkward silences on Jongin’s part but Kyungsoo enjoyed being at home and talking to his parents. He was sharing basically everything that happened on their journey there and how he hadn’t told Jongin about their status.

Luck was on his side as he witnessed his boyfriend get scolded by his parents for not telling the person he was dating for three years about his family life. Kyungsoo tried to justify his reasoning but it wasn’t working in his favor. 

When breakfast was over the older couple dismissed themselves because of things they had to do during the day.

Jongin and Kyungsoo walk out and before Kyungsoo could open his mouth, Jongin said,  
“Shut up Kyungsoo.”

“I didn’t even say anything.”

“But you were thinking about it. You were right and I was wrong. I made a fool of myself out there. I'm trying to show them an impressive side of me since my reputation is already ruined because of your videos.”

“To be fair, I did warn you that wearing nice clothes wasn’t necessary.”

“I don’t even know how to act. Your family are royals for goodness sakes. If you were me and the roles were opposite you would do the same. First impressions are important.”

“Jongin, listen, you are stressing me out by thinking too much. What you need to do and what I would actually recommend is you being calm and cool like the usual Jongin. You handled breakfast well and even if it was a bit awkward it's expected since you guys are still warming up to one another. These things take time.”

“Alright. I’m just too nervous. I want them to like me.” 

“And they already do. I could tell. My dad never asks anybody what their hobbies are. He wanted to know more about you and he smiled. Dad rarely shows his smile to strangers. He likes looking mysterious.”

“Fine.”

Jongin leaned down for a short peck and who was Kyungsoo to deny. What he didn’t expect though was Jongin to drag him into a head lock and choke hold him. 

“Uhhh...”

“This is for not telling me your parents are royals and for giving me premature grey hair in the span of two days.”

“Sorry sorry. Please release me.” Kyungsoo was hitting Jongin’s arm.

“Since you are there. This is also for last month when you ate my last Oreos. You know how stressed I was about my report and all I wanted when I came home was milk and cookies. And what do I see my stupid boyfriend on the couch Oreo crumbs around the corner of his lips watching TV as if nothing was wrong.”

“Hey! I bought you new Oreos and we had good sex after, don’t even deny. Your pent up frustration was good for your release. Your welcome.”

“We always have good sex but we don’t always have Oreos you thief.”

Jongin proceeded to tighten his hold a bit more (but enough that Kyungsoo could still breath) until he heard a person clearing their throat behind them.

“Ehmm.”

The couple turns around and sees Kyungsoo’s parents, now dressed up in what he would expect royals to wear, staring at the position he was in. 

“Uh” Jongin releases his boyfriend from the headlock he placed him in and quickly bows in the presence of Kyungsoo’s parents.

Kyungsoo notices the embarrassment growing on his boyfriend's face and he can’t help but let out a small chuckle. Sadly, Jongin hits him in the stomach and presses a hand on his back, pushing it down into a forced bow.

Jongin is ridiculous, but would not dare say it aloud. Maybe it’s different because these are Kyungsoo’s parents, the ones he grew up with. He knows how they are but Jongin doesn’t. He loves how hard he is trying to impress them though.

It was way better than when he first met Jongin’s parents. He brought flowers, wine, chocolate, some chew toys for their dog, and a ball of yarn for the cat. Jongin had to hold some stuff but fully supported what Kyungsoo bought. Well, not fully but he didn’t say it was too much (at the time) and just helped his boyfriend collect the stuff from his car.

Obviously it was too much but he really, like really, wanted Jongin’s parents to like him. Needless to say, luck was on his side as his personality shined through and impressed the Kims. It’s hard not to get along when Jongin’s family is just like Jongin. Or maybe opposite, Jongin is just like his family. Whatever the case he was comfortable and happy and loved being there.

This turned into many visits to the Kim household over the years. Sometimes he would spend the smaller holidays like 4th of July with them. They would treat him like he was their own son. Jongin used to jealously say that they loved Kyungsoo more than him and Kyungsoo used to say that it was definitely true. 

“So what do you boys plan on doing today?”

“I think I might give Jongin a tour of the palace. When he was younger he and his parents wanted to take a tour, you know?”

“Oh nice. Now you can see the secrets.” Mrs. Doh winks and walks away, leaving the boys behind in the hallway.

Jongin’s smile only fades after he is sure Kyungsoo’s mom is long gone. He was once again found in an embarrassing situation and had not worked his way out of it. He only wanted to make a good impression and yet the only thing that they have seen him do is completely embarrassing himself.

“What did your mom mean by seeing all the secrets? Are secrets going on here? I’m very curious, you know. I bet a lot of people see the inside of the palace.”

Kyungsoo chuckled and shook his head in disagreement. This fact was not true as neither him nor his siblings brought anyone home unless they were for sure it was serious. Besides Jongin, Kyungsoo had never been serious with anybody else before so this was also a first for him. Even though he made fun of Jongin he was also very nervous deep down because he wanted to ensure that everything went smoothly.

“You’re wrong. Not everybody gets to come inside and see and get a special tour specially by a prince. Feel special, babe.”

“Wow are you flirting with me?”

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes and continued walking down the hallway leaving behind his boyfriend as if nothing had even happened. Jongin called out after him.

“Hey! Wait, take my picture. I want a picture that screams I’m having a lavish time here in Korea meanwhile my sisters are stuck in Canada with my parents. No wait I want it to scream royalty bitch no wait I don’t even know.”

“You are too much sometimes Jongin but somehow I still love you. Here just pose in front of the large vase of flowers and say cheese.”

He did what he was told and held up a peace sign with his right hand in front of a vase that was almost as tall as he was filled with yellow tulips. If anyone saw this picture they would not believe where it was taken. Initially he had wanted to take a picture in the rose garden but they hadn’t gone on out there since after breakfast. 

“Let me see, let me see I want to know how it turned out.”

Kyungsoo tried hard to not laugh out loud as he looked up at the reaction of the taller man. Jongin was always the jokester and it seemed relevant to play a joke bag seeing as he was so eager to get a good quality picture.

“Wow.”

“Did it come out okay? I'm no professional but I did my best.”

“Kyungsoo! Why did you zoom so much in on my face? And I’m mid blink. I can’t send this picture out to them i'll be the laughing stock of my family. This will even replace my oldest sister's iconic crying on the easter bunny’s lap picture.”

Kyungsoo started laughing uncontrollably. He loved getting a reaction out of his boyfriend. Jongin tackled him to the ground and started to hit his chest, softly of course. Jongin’s initial faux anger turned into bright laughter as he began taking close-up pictures of the men below him in retaliation. If they were going to be bad pictures of him on his phone then he might as well take some bad photos of the photographer himself. Like playing fire with fire.

“Hey boys, I forgot to ask--”

Both looked up from their compromising position on the floor. Kyungsoo on the ground with Jongin straddling him trying to take up close pictures. The minute Jongin saw the former queen he stood up from his position and brushed himself off. Almost the exact same scene that had just occurred not even twenty minutes before.

“Oh we were just--”

“No need to explain. Just wanted to know if you guys were free for dinner.”

Kyungsoo also stood up from his position and brushed himself off. “Yes we will be there.”

“All right I’ll leave you two to continue whatever it is you were doing. See you tonight.” Kyungsoo’s mom winked and walked away.

“Seriously, that's the third time today I’ve embarrassed myself. First, I’m overdressed, then she catches me putting you in a headlock, and now we are found in this scandalous position. This is going to be a long summer. I can already feel it in my bones.”

Kyungsoo reassures his boyfriend that everything is going to be fine and there is nothing to worry about. His parents don’t think any differently of him, probably. 

“Just get back in position. I promise I’ll take the best pictures of you.”

After 15 minutes, Kyungsoo finally takes a decent picture of Jongin that he feels like he could send to his family group chat. They also took a few selfies for his own keepsakes. These are the kind of memories he wanted to remember forever.

“Well since it’s our first day here do you want to go out and venture into the city or would you rather go take a nap? Seems like we have about four hours until dinner is ready and that’s not really a lot of time to explore too much?” Kyungsoo said.

“I think we should just stay in and start tomorrow bright and early. Plus I’m still a little bit jet lagged so taking a little bit of rest would be good for dinner anyways. But first let’s finish the tour and then we can nap.”

So the boys head back off to Kyungsoo bedroom for a mid afternoon nap an hour after they finished walking around the palace. They set up an alarm so that they wouldn’t miss getting ready for dinner. Even though they remained in the dress-up clothes up until their nap.

Jongin woke up an hour before Kyungsoo and just watched some Netflix on his phone while he waited for the alarm to go off. He didn’t want to get ready too early. Kyungsoo finally wakes up thirty minutes later and they lay in bed and just talk.

He loved having these talks because he felt that they got closer and they did. He was able to tell his boyfriend how much he was already enjoying being with him at his home. Jongin knows things will get better in time the longer he stays there but for now he at least wants to make one decent impression before the end of the day. Dinner was the trick before all of them departed for the rest of the day since Kyungsoo’s parents rested early, according to Kyungsoo. 

With determined eyes, Jongin sat up in bed and looked over at Kyungsoo. 

“Okay your parents have caught me being nothing but a clown for the last few hours but I'm determined to switch their view of me by dinner tonight.”

“How do you plan on managing that?”

“How do you usually dress for dinner?”

“I mean I usually just wear my normal clothes. Jeans and t-shirt.” 

“And is that what they wear too?”

“I mean, yeah. Unless we have guests over. Sometimes they are too busy to have dinner at home but at least once a week if they aren't out of the county then we eat together. We happen to come at a good time where they will stay in the country for a few weeks.”

Jongin got up from the bed and went to his suitcase to figure out what he wanted to wear. He didn’t want to wear a button-down again but also he didn’t want to just wear some raggedy T-shirt. He had a nice sweater that Kyungsoo bought him for Christmas the year before and he really liked how it fit. It wasn’t too casual but also wasn’t too fancy.

He styled his hair the way he usually did for class when he wasn’t being lazy. He brushed his teeth again since he just woke up from a nap and sprayed some light cologne before looking at himself with satisfaction.

“Okay, I’m ready.”

Kyungsoo looked up from his phone in bed, “Well you look nice. Let me just get changed real quick. Also, you keep getting ready way before me and I keep having to have you wait for me and I feel bad. Give me a heads up next time so we can get change at the same time.”

“You literally see me getting up and scrambling around. Just get your lazy ass up Kyungsoo.”

“Mean.”

Just like the morning Kyungsoo grabbed Jongin’s hand as they walked over to the kitchen. But at least this time Jongin kind of had some sense of direction on where they were going. This would come in handy in the future when he wanted to come to the kitchen by himself.

Also like in the morning, the set up was the exact same and the younger couple sat in the same seats across from Kyungsoo parents. They were already seated and drinking some wine together when Jongin and Kyungsoo walked in.

But opposite from the morning, the older couple were still dressed in their nice evening clothes. From when they went out earlier in the day. Jongin looked down at his wardrobe and sighed.

He can’t win. He was overdressed in the morning and now it seemed like he was underdressed. The only good thing about it is that Kyungsoo stuck by his side and just followed him.

Dinner went better than breakfast which was a very good sign to both of the boys. It was still a bit awkward at times but for the most part it seemed like things were working out well.

The older couple dismissed themselves from the kitchen first. Jongin and Kyungsoo helped clean up before also departing from the kitchen.

“What’s wrong?” Kyungsoo whispered as the walked back to his room. He noticed Jongin had a small pout on his face.

“I just wanted your parents to like me but now they’ve seen me trying too hard and being on top of their son and then headlocking you and now not trying hard enough. Too many compromising situations, what if they have a bad impression of me.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I mean I went along with your shenanigans right so we’re in this together. If you feel like you look like a fool and then I also look like a fool. But at least we look like fools together so right?”

Kyungsoo had a point and Jongin knew it. He was probably just overthinking things like he always does but this was really important to him and he wanted to make sure that everything was perfect or as close to perfect as he can get it to be.

“They love you trust me. They appreciate that you are trying so hard. Also, they understand that we play around there is really nothing to be worried about. You are stressing for nothing I promise.” 

“Well, at least I have the rest of our time here to make a better impression. Let's just sleep.”

Kyungsoo patted Jongin’s butt in agreement.

“Love you.”

“Love you too.” Kyungsoo said.

“Are you sure it’s alright for us to sleep in your room together? You could be seen as an impure prince and we wouldn’t want that now would we?”

“Hey! We literally slept together last night. What’s the difference?”

Jongin cackled and ran towards Kyungsoo’s room. Kyungsoo laughed. They had big plans for the next day and they needed to get a lot of sleep so that they could get up on time. But maybe a few distractions would be ok. 

Kyungsoo feels his heart swell up with an indescribable feeling of love. He started chasing and yelling at Jongin when he noticed Jongin take a right turn when his room was on the left side.

“Jongin, wrong side! My room is on the left!”

At least he’s trying. 

—

As Mrs. Doh settled for the night, she took a peek in her youngest son’s room on her way back from her late night snack visit to the kitchen. 

Her son and his boyfriend were sleeping in the bed. Kyungsoo was laying flat on his back in a straight position and Jongin was spread eagle with his one of his legs on Kyungsoo’s

She chuckled to herself.

The poor boy was probably stressed all day, nothing going right for him. But little did he know both Kyungsoo’s mom and dad saw when he picked out some flowers from the garden and gave it to Kyungsoo or how he showered Kyungsoo with compliments for playing Mary Had A Little Lamb on the piano. She witnessed Kyungsoo and Jongin sitting on the floor in one of the sitting rooms, Kyungsoo rubbing Jongin’s stomach in a circle motion. She couldn’t help but let out a smile seeing that. It was something she and her husband did to one another when the other was stressed.

Seeing Kyungsoo doing the same comforting motion to Jongin and speaking sweet words as a form of assurance and comfort was enough for Mrs. Doh. Anyone who made her youngest happy, made her happy. And regardless of Jongin’s hiccups (if you can even call it that) he was only trying hard to impress the people of the person he loved. 

Jongin and Kyungsoo were very much in love, it was painfully obvious. Jongin didn't have to try so hard, he was already loved by her and her husband. He was hard not to love.

(Plus seeing all the videos of Jongin and Kyungsoo being silly and embarrassing together sent by Kyungsoo already determined that they would definitely like Jongin.)

She smiled one last time at the two boys and turned off the light for the night.


End file.
